All is quiet today and the sky is bright above my Chicago suburb. No more sounds of plows in the streets as they try to keep up with a blizzard that dumped over a foot of snow on us. No more scraping of shovels or drone of snowblowers going up and down driveways every couple of hours.

Chicago man with snowblower, AP/Daily Herald, Bob Chwedyk

The snow has stopped and the streets and driveways are as clear as they’re going to get. But with this storm’s one-two punch a brutal cold has settled in that explains the silence. As I type this it is -16 degrees Fahrenheit outside (negative 26.6 ºC)! And this does not tell the story of our windchill, which is much colder and describes how the air actually feels as these brutal temperatures, in the form of wind, hit your body. I haven’t heard a car pass by on the street for hours because those who can, are staying inside their homes. The local schools are closed and even my husband’s employer told him to stay home today, a phenomenon in itself! The birds are silent as though trying to go unnoticed by this biting cold and the squirrels that live in the two trees on my parkway are nowhere in sight. Hopefully, they’re snuggled up close together keeping as warm as possible. We only venture outside to walk our dog, who we dress in a coat with a turtleneck sweater underneath. Even wearing this get-up, he comes back inside shivering, feet frozen and tiny snowballs clinging to his fuzzy fur. Seán is a Bichon Frise and not made for this weather.

Meanwhile, it is about 50 degrees Fahrenheit in Ireland. But, a milder temperature does not mean that Mother Nature is taking it easy on them. Lashing rain and 120 km/h winds have wreaked havoc with damaging waves and floods along the coast and across the country from storms that have come repeatedly since before Christmas.

The River Shannon floods Kilbaha Bay on the Loop Head Peninsula, photo courtesy Carsten Krieger Photography

Tides rise and huge waves explode against the shores of the Loop Head Peninsula and all along the coastline taking down sections of stone walls, washing over roads and flooding promenades. The howl of gale-force wind and the thunder of 40 – 60 foot waves would be invigorating and exciting to witness if it were not so destructive. I imagine the local people snug inside their homes having battened down the hatches, hoping for the best and afraid to venture out to see the damage each time it quiets down between storms.

My house on the Loop Head Peninsula just outside Kilkee is inland enough that the waves themselves can’t reach it, but with wind like that and the lashing rain, I am preoccupied with concern for its wellbeing. A huge weight lifted from my shoulders when we received an email from the local man who checks on the house for us. Reading the words, “You’ll be glad to know that Teach de Búrca stands proud with no damage done to it or any of the outbuildings,” was such a great relief that I felt a surge of optimism and a special warmth for my little Irish house as it continued to brave the storms.

So here I am surrounded by snow and cold so dangerous that I won’t be leaving the house today – not even for my mocha! The cabinet doors under the kitchen sink are open to allow heat to surround and protect the pipes from freezing as are the doors around water pipes in the basement. Curtains drawn and blinds closed through the night in an attempt to keep out drafts, are now open to allow the sun to magnify some heat through the windows. The furnace is on overtime doing its best to keep us warm, so far so good. I am here and I know what is happening and what I need to do. But since I’m not in my County Clare cottage, I can’t see for myself if all is well after each storm so I am haunted by phantom sounds of crashing waves, howling wind and the rattling of my red half-door.

Atlantic waves appear to swallow the promenade in Lahinch, Co. Clare, photo taken by photographer/surfer George Karbus courtesy breakingnews.ie

8 comments

Lovely post Janet…..I’m frozen just reading it. The cold today eats right into you. Best to be on the inside looking out for once, mocha or not. There may be no west coast of Ireland left soon if these storms keep hammering it. Kieran pulled up that exact picture of Lahinch a couple of days ago. He and I sat on that little prom in the balmy days of the July heat wave eating fish and chips and watching a sea that had barely a ripple on it. Hard to believe it’s the same place with those massive waves. They are undoubtedly powerful and exciting to look at but, as you said, so destructive. All the same, doesn’t it make you want to be there? Can you imagine what it must be like on the cliff walk in Kilkee in that weather? I was slightly in awe of it even in mid summer with the sucky sound of the waves churning at the base of the cliffs. What must it be like these past couple of weeks? Reminded me of the setting for Daphne duMaurier’s ‘Rebecca’.

Now that you’ve made such a great start to the year, keep them coming!

Thanks Patricia, I’m glad you liked the post and the photos. The photos alone would be enough, they’re pretty amazing to look at aren’t they?

The last time I was on that promenade was in July too, but I was zippered into a warm jacket with my hood tied tight around my face to keep the cold wind and rain away! You and Kieran really were lucky with the weather last summer! I would love to be at the top of the cliff walk in Kilkee watching some of the more minor waves anyway. There have been times that the waves there sounded exactly like thunder and though they were pretty big they were nothing compared to what is hitting the cliffs in these storms they’re getting.

I hope you’re keeping warm, I can’t seem to get warm anymore! When the temps go up at the end of the week it’s going to feel like Spring.

With the snow and cold here, all hunkered down, I haven’t taken the time to think of how other localities are faring. I’m so glad to learn that your cottage has braved the storms and is safe and sound. You have painted such a vivid picture with your own words about the winds and Loop Head Peninsula, Janet.

A real sign of Chiberia, or Snowgeddon as I saw someone else write, when you don’t stop for your daily mocha, Janet. Neither one of us felt like braving the cold to walk down to get the mail. The bills can wait another day. Your poor dog with this cold. I’m sure he is as grateful as a dog can be that you bundle him up so for his walks. Make sure you bundle yourself as well.

Thanks Penny, I suppose I’ve witnessed enough rough weather over there to be able to use my imagination to turn it up a few notches and make an educated guess about what these much larger storms might be like! And I’ve heard the red half-door rattle as though someone was trying to get in the house late at night during a milder storm so I’m sure it has been rattling away quite a bit through these.

Very true about my mocha, the snow didn’t keep me away but -18F did! And I am a pro at bundling up, all fashion sense out the window when it’s cold!

I’m happy to hear that you and Teach de ‘Burca are surviving this crazy weather! I would love to be in Ireland to see the storms – I suppose that’s why you see so few houses built near the shore there! I live in Washington state and all is calm and tropical here – compared to your area at least. Even though we’ve never met, I think of you when I hear the news reports about your weather! I suppose I feel like I know you from reading your blog…Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing? Stay warm and thanks for the news! :0)

Patti it is so nice to have people get to know me from this blog! Thank you for your kind words. We are definitely having crazy weather on both sides of the pond – the Atlantic pond anyway! Both my older children are living on the West Coast, one in LA and the other in Portland Oregon and like you they’re enjoying calm weather and it eases my mind knowing they’re not here freezing!

Poor little Teach de Búrca! When I think of it, I think of it as a little living thing, like the brave little toaster, out there doing it’s best to be strong through the storm excited for its people to come visit! Funny how things can take on a personality like that. And that cottage is full of personality! Well fingers crossed the Burke cottage, and the Burke family stay safe and sound through all their weather!

Kate, either you got it from me or else we were just born with it, but I also put living, human characteristics to things like stuffed animals and houses! Definitely I’ve done it with the cottage. I feel like it is so happy to see me when I arrive and misses me when I’m away! :)

Both the Burke house and the Burkes have been dealing with a lot of weather challenges these days, that is for sure!